Former Draft Bust Finally Realizing Potential For Phillies

After a disappointing start to his career, Alec Bohm is finally hitting his stride for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Apr 28, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm (28). / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Heading into 2024, the Philadelphia Phillies had one of the most star-studded rosters in baseball. With Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos in the lineup and Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler anchoring the rotation, the Phillies are loaded.

Not surprisingly, Philadelphia entered play on Sunday with MLB's best record at 23-11. What is surprising, however, is who the team's best player has been so far -- third baseman Alec Bohm.

Bohm entered Sunday with the most RBIs (32) and highest batting average (.364) in the majors. He also leads the Phillies in doubles (12), OBP (.435), SLG (.579), total bases (70) and offensive WAR (1.9) -- not bad for a player guy without any All-Star appearances or notable hardware on his resume.

Bohm's numbers have been boosted by his epic hot streak. He's hit safely in his last 17 games, batting an absurd .477/.514/.769 with 13 extra-base hits and 22 RBIs. He's given Philadelphia a major boost as well, helping his team go 14-3 during that span with one of the greatest offensive stretches in franchise history.

Just how hot is Alec Bohm right now? Alec Bohm is batting .492 with 21 RBIs over the last 15 games. Ryan Howard is the only other Phillies player over the last 90 years with a batting average that high and that many RBIs in a 15 game span.
That’s the highest batting average for… pic.twitter.com/GLaq86pSWx

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) May 5, 2024

It took Bohm a bit longer than expected, but the 27-year-old third baseman seems to finally be living up to the hype. Bohm was taken third overall in the 2018 MLB Draft and debuted with a bang in 2020, slashing .338/.400/.481 in 44 games during the Covid-shortened season.

Expectations were sky-high for Bohm, but he proved to be a major letdown over the next few seasons, posting a .715 OPS (97 OPS+) with 0.0 WAR from 2021 to 2023 combined.

Many Phillies fans were starting to wonder if Bohm would ever be anything more than a league-average player, let alone recapture the glory from his promising rookie year. In 2024, he's proving that he finally has what it takes to be a star.

And after losing Turner for six weeks, Philadelphia will need him to keep playing like one.